Psalm of the Invented Grief
Invocation
O God, You who made us in Your image,
hear the cry of one undone.
You formed me with hands that can hold,
with a heart that can break,
with a memory that burns like fire.
Refrain
Why did You invent grief, O Lord?
Why bind it into the marrow of our bones?
Complaint
You lose nothing, yet You made us to lose.
You are never bereaved, yet You made us to grieve.
Was this Your likeness in me—
the sorrow that sits across the room,
the specter that shows its fangs?
It waits for me in silence,
to remind me what You have taken.
Refrain
Why did You invent grief, O Lord?
Why rend us with claws of memory?
Memory
Once, she was radiant with life.
Her laughter was my shelter,
her embrace was my home.
The voices of our children rang through the air,
our parents’ smiles surrounded us.
Those days return in flashes,
and grief becomes a gentler guest,
bringing me back to sunlight.
Refrain
Why did You invent grief, O Lord?
Why lace joy with pain?
Descent
But other memories burn like fire:
the breath that stilled,
the eyes that glazed from light to dark,
her lips I kissed in vain,
already cold beneath mine.
These are the visions that tear my heart— the stain I cannot wash away, the shadow that will not lift.
Refrain
Why did You invent grief, O Lord?
Why let her absence be my constant companion?
Petition
If You must give me grief,
then also give me Yourself.
If You must leave me this wound,
then press Your hand upon it,
lest I bleed without end.
Teach me if You can,
how to bear what You have made.
Refrain
Why did You invent grief, O Lord?
Why shape me with a heart that breaks?
Closing Cry
At Lazarus’ tomb You wept,
but You called him back.
You have not called her.
Her silence remains.
My darkness is complete.
Still I raise my fist to the heavens,
still I call Your name.
Final Refrain
Why did You invent grief, O Lord?
If this is love, then hold me in it—
for I cannot bear it alone.
Why leave me with fire I cannot quench?
On a whim... 